India slips in economic freedom index to 114th position, below China and Nepal: Top western institutes

By Jag Jivan
The latest Economic Freedom Index report, prepared by three of the west's well-known neo-liberal institute, has ranked India at 114th position in the world, below China, which has been ranked No 111th. Titled “Economic Freedom of the World: 2015 Annual Report”, the top report, ironically, has found that India ranked pretty high in economic freedom before liberalization was introduced in 1991, but following some improvement, it again began slipping.
Thus, the report's data suggest that India ranked No 57th in 1980 and 81st in 1990. It slightly improved its position to 75th in 2000 and 78th in 2005. Then the fall began – it was 111th in 2010, 102nd in 2012, and the worst was in 2013, the last year for which the data has been collected, when it reached the 114th position. The report has been co-published by the Cato Institute (US), the Fraser Institute (Canada), and the Liberales (Switzerland).
Ranking 157 countries, the report has found Hong Kong ranking No 1, followed, interestingly, by Singapore, which has one of the world's most controlled political systems. Others in the top ten are New Zealand, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Mauritius, Jordan, Ireland, Canada and the United Kingdom.
Other major countries' rankings are Australia 11th, the United States 16th, Japan 26th, Germany 29th, South Korea tied for 39th, Italy 68th, France 70th, Mexico 93rd, Russia 99th, and Brazil 118th. The 10 lowest-rated countries are: Angola, Central African Republic, Zimbabwe, Algeria, Argentina, Syria, Chad, Libya, Republic of Congo, and, lastly, Venezuela.
Among other neighbours, interestingly, Bangladesh ranks just next to India, on the 115th position, and Pakistan is ranked way down, occupying the 124th position. Neipal ranks better than India, on the 106th position.
Coming to individual areas, India ranks 35th in size of government, 83rd in legal system and property rights, 134th in sound money, 135th in freedom to trade internationally, and 123rd in regulations. At the same time, the report ranks India as one of the ten worst ranking countries in other categories – life satisfaction and life control. Here, it is in the company of Pakistan, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Egypt and others.
Ranking countries on a scale of 10, the report states, “Global economic freedom increased slightly in this year’s report, but remains below its peak level of 6.92 in 2007. The average score increased to 6.86 in 2013, the most recent year for which data is available.” India's score on a scale of 10 is 6.43, below world average.
Giving the index of others, the report states, “In this year’s index, Hong Kong retains the highest rating for economic freedom, 8.97 out of 10. The rest of this year’s top scores are Singapore, 8.52; New Zealand, 8.19; Switzerland, 8.16; United Arab Emirates, 8.15; Mauritius, 8.08; Jordan, 7.93; Ireland, 7.90; Canada, 7.89; and the United Kingdom at 7.87.”
“The United States, once considered a bastion of economic freedom, now ranks 16th in the world with a score of 7.73. Due to a weakening rule of law, increasing regulation, and the ramifications of wars on terrorism and drugs, the United States has seen its economic freedom score plummet in recent years, compared to 2000 when it ranked second globally”, the report says.
“Nations in the top quartile of economic freedom had an average per capita GDP of US$38,601 in 2013, compared to US$6,986 for bottom quartile nations”, the report says, adding, “Moreover, the average income of the poorest 10% in the most economically free nations is about 50% greater than the overall average income in the least free nations.”
It further says, “Life expectancy is 80.1 years in the top quartile compared to 63.1 years in the bottom quartile, and political and civil liberties are considerably higher in economically free nations than in unfree nations.”
The first Economic Freedom of the World Report was published in 1996, a result of a decade of research by a team which included several Nobel Laureates and over 60 other leading scholars in a broad range of fields, from economics to political science, and from law to philosophy.
This is the 19th edition of Economic Freedom of the World report.

Comments

Stronger India–Russia partnership highlights a missed energy breakthrough

By N.S. Venkataraman* The recent visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to India was widely publicized across several countries and has attracted significant global attention. The warmth with which Mr. Putin was received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was particularly noted, prompting policy planners worldwide to examine the implications of this cordial relationship for the global economy and political climate. India–Russia relations have stood on a strong foundation for decades and have consistently withstood geopolitical shifts. This is in marked contrast to India’s ties with the United States, which have experienced fluctuations under different U.S. administrations.

From natural farming to fair prices: Young entrepreneurs show a new path

By Bharat Dogra There have been frequent debates on agro-business companies not showing adequate concern for the livelihoods of small farmers. Farmers’ unions have often protested—generally with good reason—that while they do not receive fair returns despite high risks and hard work, corporate interests that merely process the crops produced by farmers earn disproportionately high profits. Hence, there is a growing demand for alternative models of agro-business development that demonstrate genuine commitment to protecting farmer livelihoods.

The Vande Mataram debate and the politics of manufactured controversy

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The recent Vande Mataram debate in Parliament was never meant to foster genuine dialogue. Each political party spoke past the other, addressing its own constituency, ensuring that clips went viral rather than contributing to meaningful deliberation. The objective was clear: to construct a Hindutva narrative ahead of the Bengal elections. Predictably, the Lok Sabha will likely expunge the opposition’s “controversial” remarks while retaining blatant inaccuracies voiced by ministers and ruling-party members. The BJP has mastered the art of inserting distortions into parliamentary records to provide them with a veneer of historical legitimacy.

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor* This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.

Thota Sitaramaiah: An internal pillar of an underground organisation

By Harsh Thakor* Thota Sitaramaiah was regarded within his circles as an example of the many individuals whose work in various underground movements remained largely unknown to the wider public. While some leaders become visible through organisational roles or media attention, many others contribute quietly, without public recognition. Sitaramaiah was considered one such figure. He passed away on December 8, 2025, at the age of 65.

Epic war against caste system is constitutional responsibility of elected government

Edited by well-known Gujarat Dalit rights leader Martin Macwan, the book, “Bhed-Bharat: An Account of Injustice and Atrocities on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-18)” (available in English and Gujarati*) is a selection of news articles on Dalits and Adivasis (2014-2018) published by Dalit Shakti Prakashan, Ahmedabad. Preface to the book, in which Macwan seeks to answer key questions on why the book is needed today: *** The thought of compiling a book on atrocities on Dalits and thus present an overall Indian picture had occurred to me a long time ago. Absence of such a comprehensive picture is a major reason for a weak social and political consciousness among Dalits as well as non-Dalits. But gradually the idea took a different form. I found that lay readers don’t understand numbers and don’t like to read well-researched articles. The best way to reach out to them was storytelling. As I started writing in Gujarati and sharing the idea of the book with my friends, it occurred to me that while...

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Proposals for Babri Masjid, Ram Temple spark fears of polarisation before West Bengal polls

By A Representative A political debate has emerged in West Bengal following recent announcements about plans for new religious structures in Murshidabad district, including a proposed mosque to be named Babri Masjid and a separate announcement by a BJP leader regarding the construction of a Ram temple in another location within Behrampur.

Global LNG boom 'threatens climate goals': Banks urged to end financing

By A Representative The world is on the brink of an unprecedented surge in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) development, with 279 new projects planned globally, threatening to derail international climate goals and causing severe local impacts. This stark warning comes from a coalition of organizations—including Reclaim Finance, Rainforest Action Network, BankTrack, and others—that today launched the " Exit LNG " website, a new mapping project exposing the extent of the expansion, the companies involved, and their bank financiers.

Search This Blog